Traffic Flowing Again After Falling Concrete Closes Part Of Route 139 In Jersey City

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Traffic was moving again Wednesday evening on Route 139 in Jersey City after falling debris closed the road for hours and made a mess of the morning commute. However, some lanes were to be shut again into Thursday morning.

Vehicles were backed up for miles after chunks of concrete crumbled onto the covered lower portion of Route 139 overnight, forcing emergency crews to close the major outbound road just outside the Holland Tunnel as well as the upper inbound lanes.

“It’s been a long time coming from what I’ve heard,” one driver told CBS 2’s Vanessa Murdock before the evening rush. “It’s been a very long time coming. Hopefully, everything will be fixed and on time so rush hour goes smoothly.”

Officials announced Wednesday afternoon that the westbound lanes would be closing again at 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. Thursday morning for repairs. The overnight closures were expected go on for several days as repairs were made, New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman Joe Dee said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we’re going to send out some inspection crews tonight and over the next few nights to make sure that the concrete that is above the lower-level travel lanes of Route 139 is stable and is attached firmly to the structural steel and other structures overhead,” Dee told WCBS 880’s Wayne Cabot.

“We don’t expect the concrete to come down, but we inspect our bridges every two years, and we make repairs as needed, and we do this type of work all the time. This is a case where this is a very old roadway. As you know, this is part of the Pulaski Skyway rehabilitation project. We’re getting ready to replace and rebuild this entire section of the roadway.”